City Clerk Appointed in Torrance

Lawndale City Treasurer John A. Bramhall has been named city clerk in Torrance by unanimous vote of the Torrance City Council.

Bramhall, a former Torrance deputy city clerk who has also served as city clerk in the City of Commerce for eight years, was sworn into office by Mayor Katy Geissert on Tuesday night and started work Wednesday.

The $40,632-a-year job was left vacant by the resignation of Donald E. Wilson on Nov. 11. Wilson died Sunday of bone cancer.

Bramhall, who worked for Lawndale on a contract basis, resigned that position and his post as a Torrance planning commissioner. He will serve until the election of a new clerk in March, 1990.

“It will be a difficult job filling Don Wilson’s big shoes,” Bramhall told the council. “But I am looking forward to working with the council.”

The council decided Nov. 15 to fill the job by appointment rather than hold a special election, which would have cost $100,000. Fourteen applicants were considered, officials said.

Bramhall, a USC graduate, spent nine years managing several apartment complexes before begining his civil service career as an administrative assistant in Pomona in 1956. He served in several capacities for Torrance between 1960 and 1962, including assistant city manager for two years, before returning to the private sector.

In 1970, he was hired by Commerce as an administrative assistant and worked his way up to assistant city administrator.

Bramhall’s departure from Lawndale after six months as city treasurer comes less than two weeks after the forced resignation of City Manager Daniel P. Joseph.

Within the next few weeks, the Lawndale City Council is expected to direct the city staff to recruit a new city manager and treasurer, officials said.

This is the second time in 14 months that the city has had openings for both jobs. Former Treasurer Ray Wood was fired Oct. 1, 1987, over a securities investment in which the city lost at least $1.68 million. Former City Manager Paul J. Philips and former Planning Director Nancy L. Owens resigned in late 1987 over problems in the Planning Department.